Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-11-19
THE pHYLLoxERA PEST.
A Peasants Simple Remedy and Its r.

suits.
"a simple remedy for phylloxera has
been discovered, which, if it works in CAL
ifornia, will be worth millions in this
State" said Signor Dondero, Secretary of
the Italian Merchants Exchange, to an FIR
aminer representative yesterday. The gen.
tleman then continued THE remedy is
az inexpensive as it is simple. and, in fact
there is profit in its application in double
sense. 1t was discovered by an humble
Turkish farmer, who had small vineyard
on his place. The phylloxera had badly
destroyed his vines, so as to make them al
most unproductive, and for economy, and
to make the land iemunerative in some
way, he planted sorghum adjacent to the
vines.
AFTER time, to his establishment, he
found the vines reviving, and they soon
commenced to bear excellently, while the
sorghum seemed to be afflicted with phyl-
loxera Upon investigation the farmer
found that the destructive plantl louise had
deserted the vines for the sorghum, because
the latter contains more saccharine matter.
and sweet of this kind Is the very life OF
the phylloxera."
Where did you procure your informa-
ton, and has the experiment been success
fully tried elsewhere ," asked the Examiner
inquirer.
1.-THE facts, responded Signor Dondaro.
II have procured from the BoAettino Men,
sile, the monthly official journal of the
Italian Merchants Exchange of CONSTANT
nople. They will be republished in full in
our own monthly Journal but in the issue
which appears to-day have, for want of
time, mere alluded to this most simple and
invaluable discovery.
''As to the remedy being tried elsewhere,
it has been successfully adopted by the
peasants of Turkey, Croatia, Dalmatia and
Eastern Italy. | remember when | was
boy in my native land that ourselves and
our neighbors, for the sake of economy,
always planted sugar-cane or sorghum ad .
jacent to our Vines, and in those DAYS the
phylloxera never attacked the latter
Planting sorghum among the vines after
ward went out of custom, and now Italy is
as much affected with the vine pest as any
other country. In fact, all the vine-D bearing
regions OF Europe suffer enormously from
the destructive effect Of the plant louise. It's
ravages in France have been SO great that
the Government of that country has
standing reward of 100000 francs for any
party or parties who discover a simple and
inexpensive cure for phylloxera.
1T seems to me that the Turkish peasant
alluded to may be honestly entitled TO that
reward. His discovery has attracted the
especial attention of all the European Jour
articles on the subject appear in q number
of Italian journals of commerce, as you see
by the copies before you"
The experiment of planting sugar-cane
or sorghum among vines will certainly be
tried by Italian vineyardists in this State.
and by others. If the simple experiment
proves a success here, as it has elsewhere,
California viticulturists may well be glad
at having at last triumphed over their
ggreatest and most destructive enemy
Clarence j. Wetmore, Secretary of the
State Viticultural Commission, said yester-
day, when a reporter called on him to in
quire what he thought of the remedy, that
he did not have full confidence in it.
Every day we have people call here"
said he, with infallible remedies for the
phyiloxera. During the several years that
l have been connected with the Commits
{ sion, we have tried scores of then, at cost
I of many hundreds of dollars, and all to no
Z purpose. The last remedy proposed was
quicksilver. The whole world has for sew
eral years past been trying to find q sure
remedy, and thus far has failed
am of the opinion that the sugar cane
remedy would not work, for this reason
Cane dies the first year, and if the phyl-
loxera had deserted the roots of the vine
for the cane, which to me is improbable,
LEY would return again. Pa ! do not
understand it to be true as Signor DondeTo
states, that the sugar attracts the phyllox-
era. There is no sugar in the roots of the
grapevine, which they infest.
-" As to Mr.. Donderos statement that he
remembers in his youth how vines planted
contiguous to cane were free from the pest,
that is very likely. 1t is only about twenty
years since phylloxera came TO the front,
and Signor Dondero's experience. it would
seem, antedates this."-.S Z. Examiner.